Samsung Gear Fit 2 vs Polar M600 — Which is Better?

Choosing Between The Samsung Gear Fit 2 And The Polar M600

Although smartwatch sales haven’t quite taken off the way their manufacturers hoped they would, there’s been enough interest in these devices to keep the marketplace evolving. The latest and greatest devices being introduced this year are blurring the lines between dedicated fitness trackers and more capable general-purpose smartwatches. Here’s an examination of how two of these gadgets – Samsung’s Gear Fit 2 and Polar’s M600 – stack up against each other.

Fitness Tracking

The Polar M600 is a serious fitness tracker and a serious smartwatch. It features all of Polar’s legendary accuracy and flexibility in tracking your activity and recording your workouts. But the Samsung Gear Fit 2 scores surprisingly well in this arena, too, producing heart rate logs and other metrics that are just as accurate as those offered by pricier fitness trackers. Its records are organized through a smartwatch implementation of Samsung’s S Health app, which you may already know from your Samsung phone.

Software

Here is where the differences start to become more apparent. The M600 runs a full version of Android Wear, giving it serious flexibility and customization options. The smaller Gear Fit 2 features a leaner operating system – Samsung’s proprietary Tizen – with limited flexibility. Basically, the Gear Fit 2 is a wrist display for the same features that are included in Samsung phones; the M600 is a legitimate smartwatch that’s capable of functioning independently.

Durability

Both of these smartwatches feature tough synthetic materials and (most importantly) durable Gorilla Glass screens. They’re both rated IP68 for water resistance, which means they’ll easily stand up to the sweatiest (or rainiest) workout sessions.

Form Factor

The Polar M600 has been described over and over again as “chunky.” That’s the charitable reviewer’s way of saying it’s frigging huge. You might not mind hauling around that extra width when you’re interacting with the Android Wear system, though. The smaller Gear Fit 2 doesn’t exactly disappear on your wrist, and its narrow AMOLED screen can be frustratingly small when you’re adjusting settings. It’s small, but there are even less obtrusive fitness trackers out there if this is a priority for you.

The Polar M600 is a pricey proposition, but its greater flexibility is likely to give it a longer useful life and let you do a lot more. The Samsung Gear Fit 2 is terrifically affordable, but it’s sharply limited in what it can do and what it lets you customize.